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W.'H. MANNING. Machine for-Cutting Soap.

NO. 22,330. Patented-"Dec. 14, I858.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WM. H. MANNING, OF OVEGO, NEYV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO; HIMSELF AND LUGIUS H.OLMSTED, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING SOAP.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,330, dated December 14:, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. MAN- NING, of Owego, in the county ofTioga and State of New York, have invented a new and useful ImprovedMachine for Cutting Soap; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings and to the letters and marks thereon.

My invention has for its object so constructing a machine that uponblocks or slabs of soap being placed therein such blocks or slabs may becut and formed readily into bars or cakes to be boxed and packed forsale or transportation.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to de' scribe its construction and operation.

Figure 1, of the drawings is a perspective view of a machine completeand ready for the block or slab of soap. Fig. 2, shows a section of thepresser or follower for forcing the block or slab against the frame ofcutters or knives and through the spaces formed by the cutters.

This machine is made up of a base or foundation frame (a), of a framecontaining a set or series of knives or cutters (b), of a presser orfollower (c), of a series of guiding and supporting bars (cl), and of ascrew (6), crank (f) to force the follower, and standard (g) to sustainthe screw and within which is a female screw for moving onward the crankscrew. The knives or cutters (h) are strips of steel or other suitablemetal, arranged, as shown by the drawings, like the partitions of a setof pigeon-holes. The follower is made up of a number of blocks (2') orsquare sections, the grooves between the blocks, or constituting thedividing line of the divisions, being to the depth necessary to allowthe blocks to pass into the space between the knives and have the facesof the blocks come flush with the delivering side of the knives. At thebottom of the follower there is a series of bars (cl), each one of whichbars is rigidly connected to one of the lowest of the series of looks orsections, the line of the sections or. properly the space between theblocks or sections being continuous with the space or dividing line ofthe bars. Each bar passes through one of the spaces of the lowest seriesof the knives, so that when the follower is forced onward the bars aremoved with it, sustaining the block or slab of soap and guiding the barsof soap.

The length of the bars (d) the dimensions of the blocks and their numberas also the number of the knives and their depth can be varied from whatis here shown, as may be called for to adapt the machine to the cuttingand forming from blocks or slabs the different kinds of soap into barsor cakes. hen used for forming soap into cakes the faces of the blocksmay have figures, or devices of various kinds upon them so as to giveornamental or other impressions upon the cakes, and in case it isdesired to have both faces or sides of the cake of soap ornamented orimpressed with figures, or other marks, a plate or frame of forms may befitted into the frame of the knives upon the delivery side; thus thecake of soap being between the resisting surface of the outer plate andthe blocks of the follower will have both of its faces impressed at thesame time. Fig. 2 of the drawings shows a few of the blocks of thefollower thus prepared.

From the description of the construction of the machine here given itwill readily be perceived that, if a block or slab of soap as taken fromthe box or mold into which it has been run, be placed upon the series ofbars (cl) between the presser or follower and the frame of cutters, uponthe turning of the crank and advancing of the screw the block or slab ofsoap will be forced up to the cutters and each space of the cutters willcontain a cake or bar of soap, which upon further onward motion of thepresser, will be forced through and out of the cutter space and bedelivered on the other side of the frame in perfect condition forpacking or storing. This machine is capable of doing the work of anumber of individuals in the ordinary way in converting block and slabsoap into bars and cakes. It may be constructed of wood, except thecutters, or it may be made of cast iron.

Having thus fully set out the construction and operation of myinvention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The machine herein described for converting block and slab soap intobars and cakes, consisting, substantially, of the frame or series ofcutters, the guiding and supportin bars, and the presser 0r follower.

WILLIAM H. MANNING.

WVitnesses:

CHARLES A. MUNGER, R. D. \VILLARD.

